Blazingly Pure & Utterly Seductive: D'Yquem 2011

The wait is over, Chateau d'Yquem is the benchmark for all Sauternes, has released their highly anticipated 2011. The reason for the delay was simple, Red Bordeaux sets the tone for the futures market and in an exceptional vintage such as 2011 for d'Yquem they made the difficult decision to post-pone the release of their 2011 to keep their treasured wine from being compared to the Red Bordeaux.

Already being compared to the stellar 2001 vintage, D'Yquem 2011 is built for the cellar and has received some of the highest ratings in Yquem history from the Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator and James Suckling:

"A Sauternes with incredible purity and beauty. Full body, with lovely character of mangos, pineapple, papaya, and honey. Goes on for minutes. The purity in this wine is phenomenal. Spicy with dried mushroom and ash undertones. Gorgeous and clean. Bright. A more balanced 2001?...97-98." JS 4/13.

"The 2011 has a clear silvery gold hue, perhaps not quite as deep as I recall the 2010 last year. The bouquet is very fragrant and well-defined, with scents of wild honey, honeysuckle and a touch of vanilla. It is a refined, sedate and beautifully focused bouquet that does not need to show off. The palate displays superb weight in the mouth, even though at first it seems almost understated. Yet there is clearly a high level of spicy, botrytized fruit with notes of honey, orange zest and a touch of mandarin. There is no explosion on the finish; the 2011 is rather a lesson in control, complexity and nuance. It is utterly seductive...96-98." WA 4/12.